The First Signs of Insanity!
by Falling Backwards Again
Summary: Well, well. You're in the dark, alone. You don't know what to do as the fear begins rising, until...you realize that it was all it ever was, darkness. Just a hole to throw a pit of emotion into, and dedication. Out of the darkness emerges ideas, theories even. Poems, beautiful ideas born out of darkness, and brought to life by light. These are my short stories, theories, and poems.
1. Birch Trees, Sheep, and Woodpeckers!

I know I've got other stories to write, but I really wanted to just talk about Gravity Falls in general. At school, I got caught drawing Bill Cipher and had to come up with a terrible excuse to why I was doing it (I said my bro was obsessed with the show, and eventually said he was supposed to be the Eye of Providence) and it made me start talking to myself again. So I had to just talk to the Gravity Falls community, because you guys are the ones that understand. Hopefully. So, here are where my ideas grow. I'll try to start off with some topics on the tops of my mind, and I'll take it from there. Feel free to leave topics you might want me to talk about or express my opinion on in a review. Without further ado, let's get to it! Also, in the case my story is erased again, I will be putting poems, made up songs, and little one-shots in this. Don't remove it again, FanFiction!

Starting off, birch trees. When I watched Gravity Falls for the first time, one of the reasons I liked the setting was because it practically described where I live. In the middle of nowhere surrounded by forests of pine trees. Pine trees and oak trees make up most of the background in Gravity Falls, and I honestly didn't care about birch trees. However, ever since Dreamscaperers aired, my entire perspective about everything in GF has changed, including birch trees. Starting off, Gravity Falls' forests are as I described them above, so a select group of birch trees is unnatural and unlikely in this environment. So why was there a cluster of them not that far from the Mystery Shack? Coincidentally, in the place Bill was summoned too! (I'm going to make an entire rant on him, just wait and see) This originally made me think that birch trees have some sort of magical property, which they may as well have, but then I noticed something else. Their strange design makes it look like there are eyes on the tree. We all know what special place eyes have in the show, right?

They see things that we may not notice at first, just like a special dream demon we know and hate/love. However, this doesn't bring up anything special, right? It could have just been a random place Gideon chose to summon Bill. But an event in Gideon Rises made me think again about them. When Mabel and Dipper go to try and devise a plan to get the Shack back, Mabel brings out a grappling hook. When she shoots it, it bounces off of a birch tree, successfully hitting Dipper in the face. Out of all the trees in the forest, the birch tree, the trees with eyes on them, the one Bill's associated with, rebounds the grappling hook back at Dipper. This seems very unlikely, especially in a pine-dominant forest. And it's not like the foreshadowing of something unspecific coming back and blowing up our faces before hasn't happened, right? Alex Hirsch is the king of hiding obvious things in the open, and making them an essential part of the overall story. I think birch trees will be connected to Bill in a way, or at least be used as a plot device eventually. It makes sense, and there are a few instances in which it could be used. Of I could be completely wrong. Who knows?

Next off, Dipper being a lamb is used A LOT in the story. It started in the Incoviencing, with Dipper doing the Lamby-Lamb dance. Then, in The Hand that Rocks the Mabel, Gideon tried to CUT OUT HIS TONGUE with lamb shears. Then, in Boss Mabel (one of my favorite episodes) Grunkle Stan makes him dress up in a wolf costume, in which Mabel wittingly makes the joke of him being a "sheep in wolf's clothing". We know from Dipper's personality that he isn't that much of a fighter, or even fierce. Then again, there has been a lot of character development since then, I mean he jumped off a cliff to save Mabel from Gideon who was inside a robot! Even to this, though, there are constant callbacks to him being referred to as a sheep of lamb. Why? I believe that once again, this is foreshadowing. Lamb and sheep are often used as sacrifice in mythology, being portrayed as innocent creatures. I think there will be a time in which Dipper will have to make an ultimate sacrifice, most likely for Mabel. This could go from anywhere from trading places with her, to having to literally give himself up so someone else will be able to get there in time.

For my last topic, (running out of ideas for some weird reason) I want to talk about woodpeckers. In the series, they're one of the three birds having been acknowledged in the series, the other two being a eagle that attacked Soos in Boss Mabel, and the duck from Duck-tective. However, they have more appearances. First in Tourist Trapped, when Mabel rolls down the hill, one is pecking Dipper on the head, next in Little Dipper, when they're on the totem pole, the woodpecker comes back and pecks him on the head again. Later, in Irrational Treasure, a man is getting married to a woodpecker, and a woodpecker helps the Mystery Twins and Trembley escape from the crate. Finally, the last time I believe a woodpecker was used was in the slowed down, "To be continued" music of Dreamscaperers. What do I think this means? Well, I think simply from Irrational Treasure that woodpeckers symbolize silliness, or at least thoughtfulness and creativeness. After doing some research, I discovered that Native Americans believed the woodpecker to be a protector of thoughts, or of mind. Mind seems to be a revolving theme across the series.

Dipper is being hit on the head by a woodpecker in Tourist Trapped for one of two reasons: he believed the town was silly, and it was gettin to him, or it was a mental block, seeing as he couldn't think of anything to do. But why would this protect him? I'll get back to that in a second. Why he was hit in the head in Little Dipper was like physically having a thought hit him, seeing as he found a way across to get to the shack. As for Irrational Treasure, the woodpeckers in that repersented open-minds. It is an unusual thing for a man to get married to a woodpecker, but not to an open mind. Without an open mind, or silliness as addressed in the episode, Dipper and Mabel would never have escaped the crate. Silliness and open mindedness often are blurred in the show's context, which also shows that Mabel is very bright subliminally. As for the end of Dreamscaperers, I believe that was put in there simply for context.

Back to one of the ideas above, why would a mental block help Dipper? I could only think of one thing: TO PREVENT HIM FROM KNOWING TOO MUCH! Think about it! Everyone that finds out too much disappears or becomes insane somehow! In "Rumble's Revenge", there is a cryptogram given to you by a mysterious personage. It says, "Dipper is playing with fire." Assemble all of them, and a secret code reveals the message, "MY NAME IS BILL" showing that Bill is telling us these things. If Dipper keeps discovering things, and heading down this path, he may be "burned" or at least end up like others who had the same intent. But why would Bill threaten Dipper, or at least try to prevent him from getting the secrets of Gravity Falls? To understand this, we must simply look at Bill's name. At first, it seems to be referencing the dollar bill, and the codes on it. But looking up the meaning of the name reveals something more. Bill, or William means "Protector" or "Guardian" while Cipher means "Secrets". Protector of Secrets, Bill Cipher. Whatever's going on, Bill is hiding something, or has something important enough to be hidden away. Perhaps a secret of his origin? Who knows.

Wow, all of that came from a woodpecker. I am obsessed with this show.

So, for all the people who want little snipets of actual story, here's a poem to soothe your mind. Nope, it's about nightmares!

_Ever on and on, light searches back_

_Trying to find the deepest emotion_

_Then, what better place than the Mystery Shack?_

_Home of mystery, secrets, and hidden notion_

_Come with me, there's more to see!_

_A man terrified of losing his identity_

_Or sacrificing it to one such as me,_

_That he loses his humanity, his empathy_

_A young boy terrified of the dark_

_But he will never give in or flee_

_Fabled to carry the created mark_

_Of the strong, loyal Pine Tree_

_There's a girl, oh so silly!_

_But lighter than her_ _brother dear_

_She alone can save home from his folly_

_His fantasy to which he is seer_

_It's quite entertaining, you know_

_Watching them mess around_

_The game hasn't even started; the wind's barely begun to blow_

_Yet they go blind, without sound_

_Their stupidity and dumbness show_

_Now who am I?_

_The all-seeing eye!_

_It's clear to those in reality_

_Or at least normal, mentally!_

_So you!_

_And you!_

_All so clear!_

_I'm not just a dream_

_I'm their reality's worst fear!_

Now that that's over, thanks for reading my little rant and some theories. I would go deeper, but I don't want to accidentally give spoilers away. (Solve the below cipher using Caesar, or three letters back!) Remember: if there's any idea, topic, or theory that you want me to talk about, feel free to leave it in a review. Bye!

**Eloo Flskhu, zkdw duh brx klglqj? Qr, L krqhvwob zdqw wr nqrz. Uljkw qrz!**


	2. Government Shutdown and Blendin Blandin!

**Okay, this was a random idea I got awhile on Tumblr. I WILL REVIEW THE SHORTS, I SWEAR! I haven't been able to, but know it's coming! Also, I'm not updating Once a Brother, Always a Brother until I get one more review. I'm just greedy like that. I will also to over the six pages that make up the secret page of the crossed-out eye, because that's pretty important. ****Oh, and this is a random one-shot story idea I came up with. I hope you like it, and that the next chapter will be more canon-related.**

* * *

It was a normal day in Los Angles. Unless you're in an animation studio, working on finishing up the final details to pitch to the rest of the team, staring at the taxidermy buffalo.

Alex Hirsch, everyone.

So, normal day. Drawing, thinking, spilling your coffee on accident, trying to explain that it's not your fault, etc. Until the phone rings. There was to one else at the studio (someone brought in doughnuts, wonder who that could be?) so he hit the button to put the phone on speaker. And regretted it instantly.

_"Hello Pine Tree!"_

**SLAM!**

He hung up the call, face unamused. This was the third time this week! And it was Tuesday!

_"You really think that'll stop me. Ha! This is just getting fun!"_ Alex turned around to find none other than Bill Cipher sitting on top of the taxidermy buffalo. Groaning, he turned his attention away from his obviously much more important work to talk to the talking Dorito.

"What do you want this time?" The demon appeared to be checking his bow tie, as he replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

_"I'm bored. What are you working on?" _Alex blinked, thinking, then said,

"You know what I'm doing." Apparently, that wasn't the answer Bill wanted, because he made the closest face to a scowl that he could without actually having a mouth.

_"Still, humor me."_ He said, leaning on the buffalo's head. Alex noticed this. Whatever Bill wanted him to do to humor him, he wasn't going to do it. So instead, he looked around as always, looking for another human being to help him out. When he saw no one, he took a minute to reply,

"...No. Get off Frank." The best thing in his mind for Bill to do right now is to disappear. Unfortunately, that's not an option.

_"You named it Frank? Ha! Shooting Star help you pick the name?!"_ Alex tried to stay calm, but at times like this, it was a little hard. Bill knew how he hated to be referred to as an object, so naturally he called him and his sister that whenever he decided he was bored and stopped to visit. It made him wanted to get up and throw his laptop at Bill, hopefully out the nearby window. However, as calmly as he could at the moment, he responded,

"Her name's Ariel, and NO."

_"Oh, relax a bit! I was just planning on having some fun!" _Knowing Bill's version of "fun", he assumed the worst. Even then, he knew Bill's real reason for visiting every time donuts "magically" appeared in the break room.

"You could just leave me alone to do my job in peace and STOP DELAYING THE SEASON!" But just as it had seemed in the first place, that was exactly the reaction Bill wanted. Stupid smug little triangle!

_"Weell..., I guess if you don't want me around, I should be leaving. Into the outside world. Alone. Bored. On Tuesday. October 1st." _Said triangle remarked in short, choppy sentences.

"Fine! See if I care!" Alex said, fed up with him. Swiftly, Bill Cipher disappeared off of Frank, and the TV, (Usually always on Disney Channel) turned on. It was the news, and it was announcing a government shutdown. In the background, though, there appeared to be a man with an eyepatch, top hat, bow tie, and cane. When the camera panned at him, he grinned manically, and said,

_"Is this better, Pine Tree?"_ And the TV shut off.

Oh no.

Alex's eyes widened as he realized what just happened. Bill Cipher, bored out of his mind, wanting to mess with him, was out alone in the world, free to cause as much craziness as he wanted too. Pulling out his cellphone and hitting the number two speed dial, he said,

"Ariel?! We have a problem!"

* * *

Well that was fun. I'm thinking that I'm going to write a creepypasta for Gravity Falls as a special Halloween story. It should be interesting. Oh, and there was one thing on the top of my mind I wanted to talk about.

In Gideon Rises, when Stan's driving up to the wreckage of Gideon's robot, we see Blendin Blandin in the crowd of citizens around Gideon. Before the car drives up, he walks out of the crowd, making him much more visible. There's only a few reasona that he could have been there, and here are my theories.

**1**. Someone in the past came back to this moment in the past to try to change it

Okay, so Gideon or someone like that could have found Blendin Blandin, and forced him to take him back in time to change the past and save himself from humiliation and what-not.

**2**. Something we missed happened in this scene, and later Blendin Blandin either observes or takes Dipper and Mabel back in time to see what it was.

This makes sense, but the situation this presents is interesting. What could be so important that we would need to go back and see it again? Is someone in the crowd? Or maybe it's an event that happens. Speaking of which, my final theory-

**3**. He's there either with/without Dipper and Mabel to stop Stan from acquiring Book 2 to stop the portal from forming, but they fail.

This could be an episode! Could you imagine the situation of why they would be doing this?! Did something happen to Stan? Will the portal not turn off? Oh, and they have to fail, because the episode ended like it did, the past unchanged. This will have to lead to some serious character development.

Anyway, those are just my thoughts. Sorry if this wasn't what you were expecting, and check out my other story!


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